M.T.A. to Test Eliminating Tollbooths, Relying on E-ZPass

The mere mention of the words “toll plaza” can annoy even the most jaded New York drivers.

But they could eventually see some relief from the usual backups and bottlenecks at many bridges and tunnels. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is embarking on a pilot program on the Henry Hudson Bridge between Manhattan and the Bronx to create an all-electronic toll system, allowing cars to zip over the crossing without slowing to a crawl.

The program, which is to be announced on Friday by the authority’s chairman, Jay H. Walder, would eliminate the gates that currently force E-ZPass users to come to a complete stop, even at tolls that require no cash transaction. Staffed tollbooths for customers who now pay cash would eventually be phased out, and drivers who do not subscribe to E-ZPass would be mailed a bill.

Officials have not yet determined when the changes will be put into effect.

“It is a test to see how we can move toward an all-electronic tolling environment,” Mr. Walder said in an interview. “It is a path that many other places have moved to already, and we need to see how it might work here in New York.”

The benefit, officials say, would be fewer delays, less dangerous merging of vehicles at the plazas, and lower costs for the authority.

A handful of places, including Toronto and areas of Florida and Texas, have experimented with eliminating tollbooths entirely, instead installing an overhead steel lattice that supports cameras and sensors that track automobiles. With no barriers to maneuver through, cars can speed along, without slowing down even slightly.

Most of New York’s bridges and tunnels operated by other agencies — including the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel — do not have gates at their E-ZPass tollbooths. At a handful of places, including the Outerbridge Crossing that connects Staten Island to New Jersey, officials have already installed so-called highway speed E-ZPass lanes, which use the overhead cameras, though they have not removed all the tollbooths.

About 800,000 vehicles a day cross the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s nine bridges and tunnels, and about 75 percent use E-ZPass. To further reduce delays, the authority is looking to develop a method for drivers to pay for E-ZPass with cash through deposits at A.T.M.’s.

Advocates of cashless tolls also cited environmental benefits.

“The biggest polluting time is when cars are speeding up and slowing down,” said Kate Slevin, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “By eliminating the stop-and-go, you reduce the emissions of vehicles.”

A version of this article appears in print on January 15, 2010, on page A22 of the New York edition with the headline: M.T.A. to Test Eliminating Tollbooths, Relying on E-ZPass. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe